Despite considerable efforts over the past decade, only 34 fast radio bursts-intense bursts of radio emission from beyond our Galaxy-have been reported
. Attempts to understand the population as a ...whole have been hindered by the highly heterogeneous nature of the searches, which have been conducted with telescopes of different sensitivities, at a range of radio frequencies, and in environments corrupted by different levels of radio-frequency interference from human activity. Searches have been further complicated by uncertain burst positions and brightnesses-a consequence of the transient nature of the sources and the poor angular resolution of the detecting instruments. The discovery of repeating bursts from one source
, and its subsequent localization
to a dwarf galaxy at a distance of 3.7 billion light years, confirmed that the population of fast radio bursts is located at cosmological distances. However, the nature of the emission remains elusive. Here we report a well controlled, wide-field radio survey for these bursts. We found 20, none of which repeated during follow-up observations between 185-1,097 hours after the initial detections. The sample includes both the nearest and the most energetic bursts detected so far. The survey demonstrates that there is a relationship between burst dispersion and brightness and that the high-fluence bursts are the nearby analogues of the more distant events found in higher-sensitivity, narrower-field surveys
.
The Gorkha earthquake (Magnitude 7.8) on 25 April 2015 and later aftershocks struck South Asia, killing approx.9,000 and damaging a large region. Supported by a large campaign of responsive satellite ...data acquisitions over the earthquake disaster zone, our team undertook a satellite image survey of the earthquakes induced geohazards in Nepal and China and an assessment of the geomorphic, tectonic, and lithologic controls on quake-induced landslides. Timely analysis and communication aided response and recovery and informed decision makers. We mapped 4,312 co-seismic and post-seismic landslides. We also surveyed 491 glacier lakes for earthquake damage, but found only 9 landslide-impacted lakes and no visible satellite evidence of outbursts. Landslide densities correlate with slope, peak ground acceleration, surface downdrop, and specific metamorphic lithologies and large plutonic intrusions.
The properties of quantum materials are commonly tuned using experimental variables such as pressure, magnetic field and doping. Here we explore a different approach using irreversible, plastic ...deformation of single crystals. We show that compressive plastic deformation induces low-dimensional superconductivity well above the superconducting transition temperature (T
) of undeformed SrTiO
, with evidence of possible superconducting correlations at temperatures two orders of magnitude above the bulk T
. The enhanced superconductivity is correlated with the appearance of self-organized dislocation structures, as revealed by diffuse neutron and X-ray scattering. We also observe deformation-induced signatures of quantum-critical ferroelectric fluctuations and inhomogeneous ferroelectric order using Raman scattering. Our results suggest that strain surrounding the self-organized dislocation structures induces local ferroelectricity and quantum-critical dynamics that strongly influence T
, consistent with a theory of superconductivity enhanced by soft polar fluctuations. Our results demonstrate the potential of plastic deformation and dislocation engineering for the manipulation of electronic properties of quantum materials.
ABSTRACT
We present observations of ASASSN-19dj, a nearby tidal disruption event (TDE) discovered in the post-starburst galaxy KUG 0810+227 by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) at ...a distance of d ≃ 98 Mpc. We observed ASASSN-19dj from −21 to 392 d relative to peak ultraviolet (UV)/optical emission using high-cadence, multiwavelength spectroscopy and photometry. From the ASAS-SN g-band data, we determine that the TDE began to brighten on 2019 February 6.8 and for the first 16 d the rise was consistent with a flux ∝t2 power law. ASASSN-19dj peaked in the UV/optical on 2019 March 6.5 (MJD = 58548.5) at a bolometric luminosity of L = (6.2 ± 0.2) × 1044 erg s−1. Initially remaining roughly constant in X-rays and slowly fading in the UV/optical, the X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude ∼225 d after peak, resulting from the expansion of the X-ray emitting region. The late-time X-ray emission is well fitted by a blackbody with an effective radius of ∼1 × 1012 cm and a temperature of ∼6 × 105 K. The X-ray hardness ratio becomes softer after brightening and then returns to a harder state as the X-rays fade. Analysis of Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey images reveals a nuclear outburst roughly 14.5 yr earlier with a smooth decline and a luminosity of LV ≥ 1.4 × 1043 erg s−1, although the nature of the flare is unknown. ASASSN-19dj occurred in the most extreme post-starburst galaxy yet to host a TDE, with Lick HδA = 7.67 ± 0.17 Å.
AbstractMicrobially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a promising biocementation process that can improve the geotechnical properties of granular soils through the precipitation of calcite. In ...this study, a large-scale biocementation experiment was completed to evaluate differences in improvement obtained using a bioaugmentation approach with S. pasteurii and a biostimulation approach, which stimulated native ureolytic microorganisms to complete the process. Two identical 1.7-m-diameter soil tank specimens containing a 0.3-m-thick layer of sand were treated using three wells at a well-to-well spacing of 1.2 m. Treatments were applied daily over 12 days and were designed to evaluate differences between tanks by creating a nonuniform spatial distribution of improvement. During treatment, shear wave velocity and biogeochemical changes were monitored spatially and temporally. Post-treatment, cone penetration tests were completed to assess improvement, and samples were obtained for calcite content measurements. Similar final improvement was observed between tanks, with highly cemented regions achieving shear wave velocities over 960 m/s and increases in tip resistances of over 419%. Results suggest that biostimulation may enable comparable biocementation improvement at the meter scale.
Context.
The Galactic plane has been observed extensively by a large number of Galactic plane surveys from infrared to radio wavelengths at an angular resolution below 40′′. However, a 21 cm line and ...continuum survey with comparable spatial resolution is lacking.
Aims.
The first half of THOR data (
l
= 14.0°−37.9°, and
l
= 47.1°−51.2°, |
b
|≤ 1.25°) has been published in our data release 1 paper. With this data release 2 paper, we publish all the remaining spectral line data and Stokes I continuum data with high angular resolution (10′′–40′′), including a new H
I
dataset for the whole THOR survey region (
l
= 14.0−67.4° and |
b
|≤ 1.25°). As we published the results of OH lines and continuum emission elsewhere, we concentrate on the H
I
analysis in this paper.
Methods.
With the
Karl G. Jansky
Very Large Array (VLA) in C-configuration, we observed a large portion of the first Galactic quadrant, achieving an angular resolution of ≤40′′. At
L
Band, the WIDAR correlator at the VLA was set to cover the 21 cm H
I
line, four OH transitions, a series of H
nα
radio recombination lines (RRLs;
n
= 151 to 186), and eight 128 MHz-wide continuum spectral windows, simultaneously.
Results.
We publish all OH and RRL data from the C-configuration observations, and a new H
I
dataset combining VLA C+D+GBT (VLA D-configuration and GBT data are from the VLA Galactic Plane Survey) for the whole survey. The H
I
emission shows clear filamentary substructures at negative velocities with low velocity crowding. The emission at positive velocities is more smeared-out, likely due to higher spatial and velocity crowding of structures at the positive velocities. Compared to the spiral arm model of the Milky Way, the atomic gas follows the Sagittarius and Perseus Arm well, but with significant material in the inter-arm regions. With the C-configuration-only H
I
+continuum data, we produce an H
I
optical depth map of the THOR areal coverage from 228 absorption spectra with the nearest-neighbor method. With this
τ
map, we corrected the H
I
emission for optical depth, and the derived column density is 38% higher than the column density with optically thin assumption. The total H
I
mass with optical depth correction in the survey region is 4.7 × 10
8
M
⊙
, 31% more than the mass derived assuming the emission is optically thin. If we applied this 31% correction to the whole Milky Way, the total atomic gas mass would be 9.4–10.5 × 10
9
M
⊙
. Comparing the H
I
with existing CO data, we find a significant increase in the atomic-to-molecular gas ratio from the spiral arms to the inter-arm regions.
Conclusions.
The high-sensitivity and resolution THOR H
I
dataset provides an important new window on the physical and kinematic properties of gas in the inner Galaxy. Although the optical depth we derive is a lower limit, our study shows that the optical depth correction issignificant for H
I
column density and mass estimation. Together with the OH, RRL and continuum emission from the THOR survey, these new H
I
data provide the basis for high-angular-resolution studies of the interstellar medium in different phases.
The stimulation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves by a magnetospheric compression is perhaps the closest thing to a controlled experiment that is currently possible in magnetospheric ...physics, in that one prominent factor that can increase wave growth acts at a well‐defined time. We present a detailed analysis of EMIC waves observed in the outer dayside magnetosphere by the four Magnetosphere Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, Van Allen Probe A, and GOES 13 and by four very high latitude ground magnetometer stations in the western hemisphere before, during, and after a modest interplanetary shock on 14 December 2015. Analysis shows several features consistent with current theory, as well as some unexpected features. During the most intense MMS wave burst, which began ~ 1 min after the end of a brief magnetosheath incursion, independent transverse EMIC waves with orthogonal linear polarizations appeared simultaneously at all four spacecraft. He++ band EMIC waves were observed by MMS inside the magnetosphere, whereas almost all previous studies of He++ band EMIC waves observed them only in the magnetosheath and magnetopause boundary layers. Transverse EMIC waves also appeared at Van Allen Probe A and GOES 13 very near the times when the magnetic field compression reached their locations, indicating that the compression lowered the instability threshold to allow for EMIC wave generation throughout the outer dayside magnetosphere. The timing of the EMIC waves at both MMS and Van Allen Probe A was consistent with theoretical expectations for EMIC instabilities based on characteristics of the proton distributions observed by instruments on these spacecraft.
Key Points
MMS observed a burst of independent transverse EMIC waves with orthogonal linear polarizations following the shock
Wave onsets at both MMS and Van Allen Probe A were consistent with theoretical expectations based on particle observations
A rarely observed minimum in wave power at the gyrofrequency of He++ ions was present both before and after the shock
To establish the diagnostic accuracy of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) when screening externally validated cognition in Parkinson disease (PD), by comparison with a PD-focused test (Scales ...for Outcomes in Parkinson disease-Cognition SCOPA-COG) and the standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (S-MMSE) as benchmarks.
A convenience sample of 114 patients with idiopathic PD and 47 healthy controls was examined in a movement disorders center. The 21 patients with dementia (PD-D) were diagnosed using Movement Disorders Society criteria, externally validated by detailed independent functional and neuropsychological tests. The 21 patients with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) scored 1.5 SD or more below normative data in at least 2 measures in 1 of 4 cognitive domains. Other patients had normal cognition (PD-N).
Primary outcomes using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that all 3 mental status tests produced excellent discrimination of PD-D from patients without dementia (area under the curve AUC, 87%-91%) and PD-MCI from PD-N patients (AUC, 78%-90%), but the MoCA was generally better suited across both assessments. The optimal MoCA screening cutoffs were <21/30 for PD-D (sensitivity 81%; specificity 95%; negative predictive value NPV 92%) and <26/30 for PD-MCI (sensitivity 90%; specificity 75%; NPV 95%). Further support that the MoCA is at least equivalent to the SCOPA-COG, and superior to the S-MMSE, came from the simultaneous classification of the 3 PD patient groups (volumes under a 3-dimensional ROC surface, chance = 17%: MoCA 79%, confidence interval CI 70%-89%; SCOPA-COG 74%, CI 62%-86%; MMSE-Sevens item 56%, CI 44%-68%; MMSE-World item 62%, CI 50%-73%).
The MoCA is a suitably accurate, brief test when screening all levels of cognition in PD.
Lava flows present a recurring threat to communities on active volcanoes, and volumetric eruption rate is one of the primary factors controlling flow behavior and hazard. The time scales and driving ...forces of eruption rate variability, however, remain poorly understood. In 2018, a highly destructive eruption occurred on the lower flank of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i, where the primary vent exhibited substantial cyclic eruption rates on both short (minutes) and long (tens of hours) time scales. We used multiparameter data to show that the short cycles were driven by shallow outgassing, whereas longer cycles were pressure-driven surges in magma supply triggered by summit caldera collapse events 40 kilometers upslope. The results provide a clear link between eruption rate fluctuations and their driving processes in the magmatic system.
Single photons and entangled photon pairs are a key resource of many quantum secure communication and quantum computation protocols, and non-Poissonian sources emitting in the low-loss wavelength ...region around 1,550 nm are essential for the development of fibre-based quantum network infrastructure. However, reaching this wavelength window has been challenging for semiconductor-based quantum light sources. Here we show that quantum dot devices based on indium phosphide are capable of electrically injected single photon emission in this wavelength region. Using the biexciton cascade mechanism, they also produce entangled photons with a fidelity of 87 ± 4%, sufficient for the application of one-way error correction protocols. The material system further allows for entangled photon generation up to an operating temperature of 93 K. Our quantum photon source can be directly integrated with existing long distance quantum communication and cryptography systems, and provides a promising material platform for developing future quantum network hardware.
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